Chapter 315: Yet the Person of Old Remains the Same (Patreon)

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm a little lost. What do you mean, filling in a soul? Actually, when did Miss Miyabi lose part of her soul in the first place?"

Belle's head was overloading. She understood every single sentence Geno said, but strung together, they made her head spin.

Especially the part where Hoshimi Miyabi had collapsed because of a gap in her soul.

"To explain that, I'll have to bring up some old history."

Geno turned his gaze to Hoshimi Misako. Misako understood what he wanted to say and nodded.

"It's all right. Since you're all Ya's friends, I'm sure you're all good children."

Truly the very picture of a beautiful, warmhearted young woman.

Geno then told them about the tragedy the Hoshimi family had suffered back when Old Capital fell.

"So that's what happened. But what does it have to do with Miss Miyabi's missing soul?"

Belle accepted the story quickly and moved straight on to her question.

"It's because inheriting Tailless requires a soul sacrifice. Aunt Misako did sacrifice her own soul, but she wasn't Tailless's previous wielder, so she never received any energy in return from Tailless. Her soul's power was nowhere near enough to carry the ritual through to the end, so..."

"So Tailless drew out part of young Hoshimi Miyabi's soul to fill the gap and complete the ritual, right?"

Twiggy worked out the truth quickly, and Geno nodded, confirming her guess.

"Exactly. Losing even a small piece of your soul is no light matter for an adult, let alone for a little girl like Hoshimi Miyabi was back then."

After the disaster, most people thought the soul-wounded Miyabi was no different than before. But those who knew her well could tell something was off with her emotions.

Her old smile and her rich range of feelings had vanished. People simply assumed her personality had changed because of her mother's death. Even her father, Hoshimi Souichirou, believed the same.

"And this coma is a complication of the same thing. The part of Hoshimi Miyabi's soul stored inside Tailless became active, and when Tailless was released, her soul and her body started pulling toward each other. Well, that's roughly it."

Geno explained it as clearly as he could, in terms he understood and the others could follow.

To everyone listening, it sounded like a bizarre fairy tale.

Then Misako suddenly realized something and turned to Geno.

"Geno, you said part of Little Ya's soul was kept inside Tailless. Could that part be..."

Geno gave her the answer she'd been hoping for.

"Yes. That part of her soul is the little Hoshimi Miyabi who kept you company in Tailless's space for over ten years."

The moment Geno picked up Tailless, he had gained a deeper understanding of that space and of Misako and the others within it. It didn't take him long to notice that the soul traces and Ether power of the "daughter" Misako said she had created were close to her own, yet completely different.

That meant only one thing: Little Miyabi had not been created by Misako.

So how had Little Miyabi come into being?

Geno had a bold guess.

Little Miyabi came from Hoshimi Miyabi herself, and he would later confirm it.

"Wow, it gets even wilder."

The more Belle heard, the more excited she got. If the occasion hadn't been so wrong for it, she would have gone off to buy some popcorn.

Once Misako heard Geno's confirmation, the tears she'd been holding back at the corners of her eyes finally gave way and streamed down her face.

"So that's how it was. I'm sorry, Little Ya. It was Mama who hurt you."

Misako buried her face in her hands and wept. All she had wanted back then was for Miyabi to live. She never imagined it would leave her daughter incomplete and make her suffer for so many years.

But just as her grief overwhelmed her, a voice drifted softly from behind.

"Mama, don't cry..."

At some point, Hoshimi Miyabi had finally woken from her coma. The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was the figure she had missed for so long. Her mind was still hazy, and she called out to her on instinct alone.

Hearing the call, Misako whirled around in a rush of emotion. At the sight of her daughter awake, her tears became even harder to hold back.

"Mama's not crying. Mama's just... so happy to see Little Ya awake."

Misako reached out and trembling hands toward Miyabi, only for them to pass straight through her.

But neither of them cared about that detail now. Miyabi closed her eyes, as if that alone would let her feel the warmth of the mother she'd missed for so long.

Geno and the others, wisely, left the mother and daughter their space and tiptoed out.

"Little Ya, I'm sorry. It's Mama's fault."

"No, Mama. I remember everything. What happened back then, what's happened now, and everything that happened in Tailless's space. I remember all of it."

Miyabi's voice was faint and weak as she softly poured out to her mother everything she knew and remembered.

As it turned out, the portion of Miyabi's soul locked inside Tailless's space, though only a fragment, had developed an independent consciousness there, nurtured by Misako's longing.

After it merged back into Miyabi's body, its memories and consciousness fused with those of the present-day Miyabi.

Along with her emotions being made whole again, Miyabi had also kept her memories of the ten years she'd spent with Misako in Tailless's space.

"In other words, I didn't miss my dear daughter growing up after all."

Hearing Miyabi say this, Misako nearly lost the fight against her tears again, but she forced them back.

Then the mother and daughter began to chat, one sentence after another.

Miyabi told Misako about every little thing that had happened over the years.

She told her how she had changed after that incident, then about going to school, then joining HAND and becoming a Void Hunter. She wanted to leave out nothing from all those years and tell her mother everything.

"Little Ya has grown up, and you've become so formidable. Mama is truly proud of you."

After the brief surge of emotion, Misako regained her usual graceful composure.

Looking at her daughter, now grown into a poised and dashing young woman, Misako felt boundless relief.

She had gotten to see her daughter once more, and even to talk with her at length about all those years.

Her heart was completely content now. Even if she were to vanish here and now, she'd have no regrets.